Revisiting Sydney’s Olympic Games

For a couple of weeks in the summer every four years, superheroes exist beyond the realm of comic books as real-life Supermen and Wonder Women gather for a stunning display of grace, beauty and strength in the Olympic Games.

Last summer’s Games yielded a new set of heroes, from the golden boys of the American baseball team to Netherlander cyclist and anorexia survivor Leontien Zijlaard.

These athletes and others are profiled in “Sydney 2000 Olympics: Bud Greenspan’s Gold From Down Under,” premiering Sunday at 8 p.m. on Showtime.

Having previously documented six summer and winter Games, Greenspan brings to this edition an obvious affection for his topic--perhaps too much, as the report feels a bit too ponderously reverent at times, with the relentless monotone of narrator Will Lyman threatening to put viewers to sleep.

The baseball segment focuses on the U.S. team’s coach and father figure, Tommy Lasorda. He lavishes tough love on his boys, pelting them from the sidelines with blue language that frequently has to be bleeped out. But he’s also generous with his praise, hugging the players one by one after their gold-medal victory, with tears in his eyes.

Greenspan re-creates the thrills of split-second wins between such competitors as relay swimming anchors Ian Thorpe of Australia and Gary Hall Jr. of the U.S., and between 5,000-meter runners Gabriela Szabo of Romania and Sonia O’Sullivan of Ireland.

And, looking beyond the big-ticket sports, Greenspan documents the devotion and quiet passion of equestrian champion David O’Connor of the U.S., who perfectly captures the spirit of the Olympic Games when he says, “I consider myself an ordinary person leading a hugely extraordinary life.”